Thomas Gary 10/21/2026

Thomas Ervin Gary of Stillwater, MN, passed away unexpectedly at Regions Hospital on October 21, 2026.  He was born on January 7, 1949 and spent his childhood in Willernie, MN. He was the sixth of the thirteen children born to Ervin and Dorothy (Boyd) Gary.   He graduated from Mahtomedi High School and attended St. Paul Area Technical Vocational Institute earning a certificate in autobody repair.

Thomas worked as a truck driver for most of his life.  First at Metcalf Mayflower and later at Mohawk United Van Lines.  He took great pride in his work, frequently saying that the world moved by truck.  He loved the freedom of being on the open road.  He claimed to suffer from claustrophobia, but really, he just always wanted to be on the move.

As a father, Thomas was loving, supportive, and, although frequently away for weeks at a time, only a phone call away. He believed in allowing his children to be their own person and make their own mistakes.  He was always quick to help out when needed and glowed with pride at their smallest achievements.   He frequently introduced them to people as though they should be just as enthused about their existence as he was.

Thomas was naturally curious and loved to take things apart to see how they worked.  He liked working with his hands and loved to have a project going at all times.  If he didn’t have one, he was working on finding one.  This led him to be brilliant at fixing things and a jack-of-all-trades handyman.

Raised in a large family of limited means, he took to dumpster diving as he hated to see useful things going to waste.  As a child, he used salvaged bicycle parts to make himself one that he used to deliver his paper route.  He made his daughter a play kitchen set that was so impressive it has been passed on to other children who also adored it.  He even retrofitted a Volkswagen Beetle engine into a golf cart just for the fun of it.

He enjoyed being outside whether he was hunting, fishing, gardening, or just enjoying nature’s beauty.  He loved telling stories and inviting the people around him into a joke.  He was hardworking, dependable, and rarely complained.  He was also terribly stubborn, but frequently so charismatic about it that many people viewed him as a “charming pain in the ass.”

A man of strong moral convictions, he believed deeply in standing up for the little guy and the value of his fellow working man.  He often interceded on behalf of others to ensure everyone around him was treated with dignity and respect.

In his final years, Thomas lived at Oak Ridge Place.  He was allowed to take over the gardens and provided many residents with fresh fruits and vegetables.  His curiosity about how the building ran made him an invaluable assistant to the building’s maintenance man.  His resourcefulness and knowledge of the building was put to good use as he became the man to go to when anyone needed something but didn’t have the means.  His friendly, mischievous nature made him many friends although he was reprimanded more than once for being too rowdy in the dining room.  It was there that he regained his sense of purpose after being forced into retirement and a community he loved being a member of.

Per Thomas’s wishes, there will be no memorial service.  Instead, his children invite his family and friends to share a favorite memory of him by leaving a voicemail at (715) 494-0226.  They will deeply miss hearing his stories but look forward to hearing yours.